Hungary is a Central European country. Hungary borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east, Yugoslavia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. It has an area of 93 030 km2. The main cities are Budapest, the capital, with 1 729 800 residents (2004), Debrecen (205 400 residents), Pécs (158 900 residents) And Miskolc (181 400 residents).
There are four regions in Hungary: the Great Hungarian Plain, located in the south and east, occupying more than half of the territory; the Little Hungarian Plain, located in the Northwest; the mountainous system known as Transdanubia, with altitudes between 400 and 700 meters, separating the two Hungarian plains; and the Northern Mountains, with volcanic characteristics.
The hydrographic resources are vast, with the largest rivers being the Danube and the Tisza, which run through the country from north to south, with emphasis on the existence of one of the largest lakes in Europe, Lake Balaton, with 598 km2.
Climate
Hungary’s climate is temperate continental and moderately dry.
Economy
Hungary has bauxite, coal and manganese as its main mineral resources, as well as substantial amounts of lead, zinc and copper. In recent years, considerable areas of oil, natural gas and uranium have been discovered in Hungary, changing the Hungarian outlook for energy resources, hitherto considered poor.
The most important industrial products are cement, raw steel and rolled steel, fertilizers, textiles and clothing, electronic articles (television and radio), locomotives and buses.
Although the importance of agriculture has decreased within the Hungarian economic environment, the truth is that this country is self-sufficient in terms of the production of agricultural goods, even exporting several of these products. Of these, corn, wheat, beets, barley and potatoes stand out.
As for the tertiary sector, it is important to highlight the importance of tourism in obtaining foreign currency. Hungary’s main trading partners are Germany, Austria, Italy and Russia.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide emissions, per capita(metric tons, 1999), is 5.6.
Population
It has a population of 9 981 334 residents (est. 2006), which corresponds to a population density of 107.57 residents/km2. The birth and death rates are respectively 9.72% and 13.11%. Average life expectancy is 72.66 years. The value of the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.837 and the value of the Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG) is 0.834 (2001). It is estimated that, by 2025, the population will decrease to 9 276 000 residents.
The Hungarian people, commonly called Magyar (name also attributed to the Hungarian language), are quite homogeneous, making it very difficult to distinguish any subgroup. It constitutes 97% of the total population, with the remaining 3% corresponding to Roma, Germans, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats and Romanians. Catholicism (63%) and Protestantism (26%) are the dominant religions. The official language is Hungarian.
Art and Culture
Hungary – namely its capital, Budapest – is famous for its intense cultural activity, the result of the huge state investment in this matter that creates excellent working conditions for the various artists. This is how the high number of internationally renowned Hungarian artists is understood, such as Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály or Kálmán Mikszáth.
History
Hungary has its historical roots in the occupation of the banks of the river Danube by the Magyar people at the end of the 9th century, lands that had been occupied by the Romans (14 BC. – 4th century AD), by the Germans ( 5th century), by the Avaros (6th-8th centuries) and Charlemagne’s empire (9th century). At the end of the 10th century, the Magyars adopted Christianity as a religion, at the same time initiating the structuring of a strong and independent kingdom; and in the 12th century, Hungary was the main state in central-eastern Europe. However, in 1241, the end of Hungary as an independent kingdom began, through the great Mongol invasion, which decimated half the Hungarian population and left a trail of complete destruction. After this invasion, Hungary plunged into a period of internal instability, culminating in the disappearance of the royal Arpad dynasty, in 1301. From that date, Hungary came to be dominated by the royal house of Naples and, after the invasions of the Ottoman Turks started in the 14th century, Hungary was divided, in 1568, into three parts: a narrow strip to the west passed for the domain of the Habsburgs of Austria (which would eventually dominate all of Hungary in the late 17th century); to the east, Transylvania gained autonomy status under the sovereignty of the Turks; and the central part passed into the direct domain of the Turks. Transylvania gained the status of autonomy under the sovereignty of the Turks; and the central part passed into the direct domain of the Turks. Transylvania gained the status of autonomy under the sovereignty of the Turks; and the central part passed into the direct domain of the Turks. For Hungary democracy and rights, please check intershippingrates.
In 1848 there was a revolution led by Hungarian intellectuals with the aim of obtaining independence from Hungary, caused not only by the social discontent caused by the despotic politics of the Austrians, but also by the constant ethnic conflicts between the Magyars and the other ethnic groups present in the territory, such as Romanians, Slovaks, Serbs and Croats. Following this revolution, the Austro-Hungarian empire was formed in 1867, under which Hungary enjoyed greater internal independence, although not enough for some sectors of society represented in Parliament, which caused various situations of political instability. This empire dissolved with the end of the First World War – during which it maintained an alliance with Germany -, with the Hungarian territory divided, under the Treaty of Trianon (4 June 1920), between Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria, Poland and Italy, with Hungary remaining with practically the area it possesses today. This dismemberment was accompanied by a period of great instability and social, political and economic rupture, the causes of which are found in the occupation of Hungary by the Romanian army and in the failed attempt by the Hungarian Bolsheviks to gain power. This whole situation left deep wounds in Hungarian society, which, together with a national reconstruction that proved to be difficult and time-consuming, contributed to a broad growth of radical right-wing movements. This fact was at the origin of Hitler’s alliance between Hungary and Germany, through which they saw the opportunity to recover the areas lost under the Trianon Treaty. As the war progressed, Hungary became more and more involved in the conflict, especially on the eastern front, where German forces were opposed to the Soviet forces, counting on the support of the majority of Hungarians, who kept in mind the bad experience Bolshevik movement that occurred in the late 1920s. However, the Soviet Union proved to be stronger, gradually pulling back the German-Hungarian forces until they were expelled from Hungary on April 4, 1945. Since then, the presence of the forces Soviets paved the way for the implementation of a communist regime, at first in a discreet way, then becoming more concrete and effective in 1949, with the declaration of the People’s Republic of Hungary, a process that even the 1956 revolution was unable to prevent. This year, János Kádár came to power. Although communist.
With the end of communism in the Soviet Union and its consequent dismemberment in 1989, Hungary took the opportunity to break free from that ideology, initiating a process of democratization based on the revision of the Constitution, in which the division of powers was established (legislative, judicial and executive), the implementation of a multiparty political system and the consequent abandonment of the term “popular” in the designation of the country. The 1990 elections brought to power a coalition of parties formed by the Hungarian Democratic Forum, the Independent Owners Party and the Christian Democratic Party, and led by the Forum’s leader, József Antall. Economic reforms were then initiated to bring Hungary closer to the living standards of Western European countries. Yet, the government proved powerless to carry out such reforms, which resulted in a heavy defeat for the coalition parties (mainly the Forum) in the 1994 general elections, which gave the Hungarian Socialist Party a large victory (54% of the votes) , formed by former members of the Communist Party. However, to avoid any mistrust or fear, either on the part of the Hungarians or on the part of the international community, the PSH established an agreement with the Alliance of Free Democrats (18% of the votes) with a view to forming a coalition government under the leadership of socialist Gyula Horn. This Government has since attempted to make economic reforms more effective, having at the same time started a process of constitutional revision to, within two years, be approved a new Constitution.
Hungary formally joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 at a ceremony held in Dublin.
Countryaah.com: Offers a full list of airports in the country of Hungary, sorted by city location and acronyms.
Abbreviationfinder.org: Provides most commonly used abbreviations and initials containing the country name of Hungary. Listed by popularity.
1UpTravel.com – Maps of Hungary
Browse a collection of city, country, political, shaded relief and historical maps of this European country. Check out the maps of Budapest and South Eastern Europe.
